I was mentally scarred after fleeing the Manchester Arena bombings at 14 – now I’m a Miss England semi-finalist
AFTER the horrific Manchester Arena Bombing, countless lives were destroyed.
Rather than spending her life living in fear though, one survivor has conquered her fear of crowds and now is walking the runway as a beauty queen.
Nothing could have prepared Modelle Hughes-Gervis for what happened on that fateful day on May 22nd, 2017.
Barely a teenager at the time, she had been looking forward to the Ariana Grande concert with her best friend Leah Kelly – not knowing the lasting effect it would have on her.
“The actual concert itself was great, she recalled, saying; “We wanted to see her so badly and it was a literal dream come true.”
Having watched her idol perform, the then-fourteen year-old hadn’t realised what had happened when suicide bomber Salman Abedi denoted a bomb – killing 22 people in the process.
Reliving the horrific moment, she said: “These balloons had come down from the arena, at first I thought it was the balloons popping. For a split second I didn’t think anything of it.
“Then we saw the crowd disperse. You see all these people jumping to get to the ground floors. We had no idea what to do as it was just us two.
“We heard it was a bomb, but we didn’t know whether there were planes above us dropping bombs or bombs around the arena.
With the exits blocked, the young woman ran up the chairs with her friend in a desperate attempt to leave the arena.
When they did reach an exit, they saw others covered in blood and wounds.
Though she escaped with her life, the effects had a life-long effect on the model.
As she came to terms with what had happened, Modelle struggled to be around crowds and loud noises.
Even working in her local John Lewis has been difficult, as the sounds people make moving around The Trafford Centre can be triggering.
“Working in a shopping centre, hearing a child screaming or people screaming, it does trigger me,” Modelle confessed, adding: “I was in Cyprus a few years later and there was a storm that triggered my anxiety. There was thunder that sounded just like the bomb.”
After being inspired by how her community came together in light of the devastating attack, the now 20-year-old has worked hard to conquer her fears.
She said: “I never thought I’d be caught up in a terrorist attack. I’ve seen now, this can happened to anyone.
“But after the bombing I adapted to the mindset of don’t let anything get in your way – you only have one life so chase your dreams.”
Having returned to modelling at 19, the Salford woman is now set to compete in the Miss England semi-final next month and hopes to encourage others to chase their dreams.
Gushing about the April 7th competition, Modelle told press: “I’m very excited for the semi-final.
“I’m feeling confident and capable and that’s not something I ever thought I’d feel a few years ago.
“I’ve always wanted to motivate, encourage and inspire people to do whatever they want and Miss England gives you that platform.”
For more details about Miss England visit: www.missengland.info